Modern technology is tricking your nervous system into fight-or-flight — and it's decently profitable to keep you there. Jon Hacker, CEO of NeurGear, explains how focused ultrasound vagus nerve stimulation can switch you back.
In this episode of Health Longevity Secrets, Robert Lufkin MD sits down with Jon Hacker, biomedical engineer and CEO/co-founder of NeurGear, the company behind ZenBud — the first ultrasound-based vagus nerve stimulator. They cover how the vagus nerve governs your rest-and-digest state, why so many of us are stuck in survival mode, how ultrasound compares to electrical stimulators, what the clinical trial data shows, and where single-neuron interfaces could take medicine next.
Chapters:
00:00 — Introduction
01:36 — From Anime Dream to Neurotech Startup: Jon Hacker's Story
06:32 — How AI Supercharges a Small Hardware Team
09:26 — Why Ultrasound Won: Two Pivots to the Vagus Nerve
12:21 — Vagus Nerve 101: Rest-and-Digest vs Survival State
14:59 — How Modern Technology Traps You in Fight-or-Flight
30:16 — What to Track: Why Quality of Life Beats Biometrics
32:34 — Side Effects & Overuse: Headache Warning Signs
34:22 — Where VNS Fits: Sleep, Diet, Exercise & Breathwork
36:57 — The Future: Single-Neuron Interfaces & Full-Dive VR
Key takeaways:
Your vagus nerve drives your "rest-and-digest" state — low vagal tone leaves you stuck in survival mode, and chronic survival-state activation feeds the chronic diseases we face today
ZenBud uses low-intensity focused ultrasound (not electricity) to stimulate the auricular branch of the vagus nerve — no shocks, no gel pads, no app required
In a 4-week pilot trial, daily 5-minute sessions produced significant reductions in anxiety, depression, and PTSD symptom scores
Reaction time, resting heart rate, and HRV can track nervous-system changes — but your quality of life is the gold standard
Start with 5 minutes a day and scale up slowly; a mild reversible headache is the signal to dial back
Studies & sources:
Kohler I, Hacker J, Martin E — "Reduction of Anxiety-Related Symptoms Using Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation" (JMIR Neurotechnology, 2025) — https://neuro.jmir.org/2025/1/e69770
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